Dunedin Methodist Parish

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Dunedin Methodist Parish"

Ambrose James
5 years ago
Views:

1 Dunedin Methodist Parish Finding Good in everyone Finding God in everyone Find us on Facebook: Dunedin Methodist Parish Presbyters: Rev. Siosifa Pole Rev. Dr. Rod Mitchell Parish Stewards: Mrs Hilda Hughson Mrs Earlene Owens Tongan Steward: Mr Kaufusi Pole Parish Office: Siosifa: Katrina: Parish Prayer Convenor Elaine Merrett: Pastoral Convenor Mornington: Beryl Neutze PARISH BULLETIN 19 th February 2017 WORSHIP FOR SUNDAY 26 th February 9.30 am Mornington C Gibson 9.30 am Mosgiel E Merrett am Glenaven C Gibson 1.00 pm St Kilda TBA MORNINGTON METHODIST WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP - The first meeting of the year will take place on Wednesday the 22nd February at 12 noon. Please bring a non-dessert contribution of food for a pot-luck luncheon. Desserts will be be provided. The Guest Speaker - Sue Galloway - subject - Sinclair Wetlands.

2 PARISH PICNIC @ McKerrow Bridge Field Bottom of Three Mile Hill Along Silverstream Valley Road Drive to end of tar seal (3Kms) FOLLOW BALLOONS FROM CORNER.

2 2 PARISH McKerrow Bridge Field Bottom of Three Mile Hill Along Silverstream Valley Road Drive to end of tar seal (3Kms) FOLLOW BALLOONS FROM CORNER. Bring sun umbrella s if you have one, supposed to be 28 on Sunday 19 th February 11:00am to 4:00pm Excellent flat ground for games, Beautiful stream for swimming, Clean toilets & treated water for drinking. UNIVERSITY ORIENTATION - The Combined Christian Groups (CCG) committee on campus are once again providing a tent on the Museum lawn during Orientation week, from Monday February 20 th - Wednesday 23 rd. Our tent will be a hospitality and information centre where new students can find a warm welcome, day and night. Baking and fruit, for distribution to students via our tent can be delivered to the Upper Room Chaplaincy offices upstairs in the University Union building from Monday 20 th until Wednesday 23 rd. You are very welcome to visit the CCG tent during Orientation week. THE MORNINGTON WORLD DAY OF PRAYER Service will be held at 7.30pm on Friday 3 March in the Mornington Presbyterian Church, 16 Maryhill Tce. Supper to follow. Everyone welcome.

3 SYMPATHY - I would like to convey on behalf of the Mornington congregation and the whole of the Parish to Gordon Abernethy and the family our condolences and sympathy for the death of your brother last Friday. It is our prayer that God s peace be with you during this period of mourning and grieving. CHURCH FUNDRAISER 2pm 25 th Feb, at Mosgiel Presbyterian Church, 11 Church Street, Mosgiel. A scintillating afternoon with Dunedin Gaswork Guild of Gadgeteers, a parade of gorgeous gowns and gadgets. $10 entry tickets will be available from the Christian Bookshop, Mosgiel Presbyterian Church office & Gaynor Robson Includes a light afternoon tea, raffles and book sale of cheap pre-loved women s books. GOD OF LOVE TALKS ON CAMPUS - ALL WELCOME 11am Monday 27 th February Mihi Whakatau for Ravi Zacharias and team - in Main Common Room, University Union building 12pm-2pm each day in the Main Common Room, University Union Building. Monday 27 Feb - Ravi Zacharias - God of Love; Looking for Absolutes in a World of Relativism. Tuesday 28 Feb - Michael Ramsden - God of Love; God of Judgement? Wednesday 1 March - Dan Patterson - God of Love; Religion of Violence? Thursday 2 March - Michael Ramsden - God of Love; World of Suffering? Plus: Thursday 7pm at North Ground (Alhambra Union) - Ravi Zacharias - God of Love, Now What? All talks will be about 40 minutes long, followed by a Q&A session. Further information : 3

4 4 LENTEN STUDIES - Start on Wednesday, 8 th of March at Mosgiel Methodist Church, 7pm. The whole Parish are welcome. SERVICE TIME CHANGE - The Mosgiel Methodist Church will change its starting time of service from 9.30am to 10am on Sunday the 5 th of March MARCIA AND JOHN HARDY turned up at Mornington last Sunday and were greeted with a warm welcome. The couple, from Christchurch, have moved into a house they have owned for several years at Port Chalmers, and they say it has been a long-awaited move south. They say that Mornington will be a good fit for them considering our traditions - music, the choir, inclusive, progressive etc etc. John is an interior plasterer by trade and has already found work in Dunedin, has served the church in many practical ways, "a deacon at heart" (Marcia) and his baritone voice will be welcome in any congregation! Marcia, for her part, is an ordained Methodist presbyter having served in the Waikato and Canterbury regions. Also the couple had 3 years in the Methodist Church in Dorset, Eng. which they enjoyed immensely. And finally, Marcia has another string to her bow, having been ordained in the Anglican Church in Christchurch, and she hopes to move in ecumenical circles in Dunedin. W ELCOME indeed, John and Marcia!

5 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER ECUMENICAL SERVICE TO BE HELD Friday 3 rd March 2017 Catholic Chruch Church Street, Mosgiel Time 1.30 pm. All Welcome 5 This worldwide movement of informed prayer involves people from 170 countries also many denominations, who together observe a common day of prayer each year. Through World Day of Prayer: We affirm our faith in Jesus Christ. Our logo has the cross in the centre formed by praying figures from the four corners of the earth. All are joined together within the circle of the world and enfolded in God s Love. This year, our service is from The Philippines. AM I BEING UNFAIR TO YOU? Join us, to enjoy this happy time, with stories & singing from The Philippines. Wear your bright colours. ALL WELCOME. Greeting MABUHAY! Pronounced MUH-BOO-HI Meaning: may you live, cheers welcome Hurrah. VOLUNTEERS FROM THE PARISH - During the Otago University Orientation Week, the Combined Christian Group will have a tent at the Museum Lawn. Churches are rostered to be in the tent. The Methodist Church is rostered for Wednesday 22 nd. If anyone is free to be at the tent on behalf of our Parish will be appreciated.

6 STORIES FROM THE MISSION Support & Advocacy: Anna-Kristy went to visit a new mum to the centre as part of the service offered to new parents/whānau that attend Little Citizens.

6 6 STORIES FROM THE MISSION Support & Advocacy: Anna-Kristy went to visit a new mum to the centre as part of the service offered to new parents/whānau that attend Little Citizens. She is a young mum of two children under the age of five. She is currently living in an overcrowded house in South Dunedin where she is sharing a room with her partner and two children. She is desperately trying to find somewhere else to live, and has rung Housing New Zealand and had an interview assessment. She has put herself on the waiting list for a property, and is continuing to look at private rentals although she does not feel she can afford them at this time. The mum was also really interested in finding some regular parenting support with her two young children and has been referred to Family Start to engage with a worker. Due to the overcrowding in the house the client is unable to make food last as it is eaten. She requested a referral to a food bank, and picked this up herself. Update: After many weeks of being on a waiting list she decided to visit the local MP in South Dunedin to discuss her situation. She recently had a call from Housing New Zealand and has been told she can now move into a housing New Zealand house. She is happy with this news as it allows her and her children the space they need. Either/Or 'You either love him or you hate him' Have you noticed that in reports of conflict there seem to be only two sides to an argument? You are one or the other: a lover or a hater, ruler or rebel, Left or Right, Eastern or Western, Christian or non-christian, friend or enemy. It's called dualism, binary thinking, polarization, and it's everywhere. But why should we accept it? It's not just over-simple, it's downright

7 wrong if we want an encompassing vision for our world. For Christians, it widens the divide that Jesus challenged, between Jews and Gentiles, Us and Them. Jesus was perhaps the ultimate humanist, committed to valuing humans of whatever kind or side. 7 If you are anti something, it's often assumed you are negative about other things as well. But what if part of you is pro? Take Christmas. There's debate in December between those pro or anti. But I would say which Christmas? There's the religious festival, and then there's the shoppers' Xmas; or there may be a family celebration that combines both. The present-giving originates from the wise ones' gifts in the Bible, even if it's no longer connected to the Jesus story. While it's possible now to enjoy the seasonal gift exchange without knowing its origin, this wasn't the case in the nineteenth century when Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. This last December, as well as hearing excerpts of that famous story read aloud by a (Buddhist) nephew, I had the pleasure of reviewing a full-scale opera, by New Zealander Philip Norman, based on the Dickens tale. The story is as popular as ever: a change of heart is brought about in the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge by compelling visitations from spirits of Past, Present and Future as well as of his late colleague Jacob Marley. Miser Scrooge's arid existence is contrasted with others' ability to enjoy life in the smallest things, to celebrate Christmas in a social gathering, with the presence of others being the main presents/gifts. The lighting designer had a field day with these contrasts, choosing a ghostly blue, wintery tone for what life feels like for the Poor, suffering (then as now) under the Money Men, and a warm golden glow for the 'fun-filled days' enjoyed by people who know they are rich in simply having each other to love. Such a simplification belongs in the theatre, where it made a very obvious point. But there's another aspect that relates back to my

8 8 theme of Either/Or. Along with the division of characters into those partying in midwinter and those who are deprived, scornful, or hopeless all year round, there is a fusion of two principles which I found interesting. One of the most persistent examples of dualism that emerged in our tradition is that the physical is divorced from the spiritual, the soul separate from the body. It was Greek philosophy that brought this concept into our religion; it is not a Hebrew idea, nor is it present in the theology of the early Christian Celts. In the Roman Catholic tradition (from where we've come), the body was such an enemy and distraction to the soul that from very early in the church's history, men and women became monks or nuns, abstaining from physical contact with others and punishing themselves for having fleshly desires. If you think this idea died long ago, think again. As we read in a recent Connections article, it survived (as the 'mortification' of the flesh) into Luther's Reformation. A flesh-denying Puritan streak is still evident in some denominations, where 'having fun' in any physical way is counter to what is expected from Christian adherents. In A Christmas Carol, however, the wholesome fun of Christmas, with games, dancing and music, is on the side of the Good, aligned with the spirit of giving, of generous and universal love. In the battle of Good and Evil, the ungenerous Scrooge is moved to change sides, proving our Methodist motto: Finding Good in Everyone, Finding God in Everyone. We're going to have to say our motto daily as we face the consequences of America's choice of president. As he marshals the forces determined to deny basic human rights to those designated Other, or Enemy, we have to look very hard for any sign of a Scroogelike capacity to change. -- Helen Watson White

Dunedin Methodist Parish

Dunedin Methodist Parish Finding Good in everyone Finding God in everyone www.dunedinmethodist.org.nz Find us on Facebook: Dunedin Methodist Parish Presbyters: Rev. Siosifa Pole 455 2923 Rev. Dr. Rod Mitchell